Advances in video technologies, including mass reproduction of prerecorded videotapes, along with the increasing popularity of videotape machines for home and business use, have made videotape an attractive alternative for disseminating a wide variety of information. The resulting desire to utilize video media in an increasing array of applications has, in turn, helped to spawn interest in developing further video technologies, such as digital videotapes and compact disk video variants. Impending advances in these areas are also focussed, at least in part, on the aspect of efficiencies in the mass reproduction of prerecorded materials.
In large part, the attractiveness of videotape, and other video materials, as a medium for information dissemination results from decreasing costs attendant with the above factors. However, the cost savings that have been realized are mainly due to efficiencies in reproduction methods, and the ability to spread costs over higher product volumes due to the increased demand. As the bulk of the cost associated with the production of video materials is incurred in the original creation (e.g., filming, etc.) and preparation of a master tape used for reproduction of copies, it can still be cost-prohibitive to utilize video media in low-volume applications.
In particular, while it may be desirable to use prerecorded video materials, e.g., videotape, to deliver information, entertainment, messages, or other such matter targeted to a particular individual or small group of individuals, the costs associated with the preparation of such low-volume materials have heretofore made this approach impractical. In order to alleviate this situation, there exists a need for a method and system for producing "personalized" video materials, i.e., videotapes, or the like, which are individually tailored to a person, a small group of people, an entity, or other such low-volume application, but which still take advantage of reduced costs resulting from high-volume reproduction techniques and the economies of scale associated therewith.